Grocery Price List Update

Wanted to let those of you following, know that I updated the price list today.  No changes but I added a few things from Meijer, Target, and now GFS.

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

This recipe is another from my family's cookbook submitted via my mom. I didn't venture TOO far off the beaten path with this so it should be fairly straight forward this time.

Quiche Ingredients:

1 cup sliced mushroom - approximately 2 cans

1 cup chopped onion - I substituted minced onion and used about 2 tbsp (not a fan of onion texture but love the taste)

1 cup chopped broccoli - approximately 1/2 a bag

5 eggs

1/3 cup miracle whip

1/3 cup milk

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese - I used regular cheddar

Pie Crust Ingredients: 

** Above recipe calls for 1 frozen deep dish pie crust, I just didn't want to buy what I could make myself.**

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

2 tbsp water*

Steps for making pie crust:

1) Mix flour and salt together in a medium bowl.

2) Cut in vegetable shortening with knife or pastry blender (I just used my kitchenaid) until crumbly

3) Add the 2 tbsp of water until mixture holds together. Continue adding 1 tbsp at a time if your dough needs more.

4) Shape dough into a ball, place on lightly floured counter, and roll out with rolling pin until 1/8" thick.

5) place in pie pan and trim edges as desired.

Picture is a little dark and the shape is a little sloppy but it tasted right!

Vegetables frying

Steps for making Quiche:

1) preheat oven to 375

2) place vegetables in skillet with small amount of oil until vegetables are tender. Then remove from heat, and set aside.

3) Whisk eggs, dressing, and milk in  medium bowl until well blended.

4) Stir in vegetables & cheese, then pour into pie shelll. 

5) Place dish on baking sheet (to protect oven from sloshing) and bake for 40-45 minutes (until center is set.

Quiche right before entering the oven

Tips:

1) If making your own pie crust, you may want to put the crust in the oven for a little bit prior to adding quiche ingredients. the middle of our crust was not done but the quiche was when we took it out. I'm not sure if it would do the same thing with a froze crust or not. 

2) I thought the miracle whip flavor was a bit over powering. The next time I make this, I plan on reducing the amount of that, and adding an egg in its place.

Completed Quiche

Synopsis:

Both Andrew and I thought this was really good. After I mentioned slightly over powering miracle whip taste, he realized that he also tasted it (so its fairly minor but I'm not a huge fan of that flavor anyway). So, I plan on using Tip #2 the next time I make it.

Andrew's Ruling: 4 out of 5

"Very Good"

Becki's Ruling: 4 out of 5

Potentially great, with the right adjustments

Austin's Ruling: 5 out of 5

Minus the mushrooms, he wouldn't stop eating ours (this was after he already had dinner!)

Apple Cider Donuts

Inspired by the taste of home recipe for Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts, I thought I would make my first go at making doughnuts. I should have known better! :P

Picture courtesy of Taste of Home

My first attempt was done without a doughnut pan. I used a muffin tin and aluminum foil "dowels" in order to make holes in them. The batter came out pretty much like a muffin and didn't bake right. The tops were a little hard, the bottoms were mush. Granted, I read the recipe wrong and put 2 times the amount of batter in each muffin tin as what the recipe called for. So it could have been my fault. The batter tasted amazing though so I went out and found myself a doughnut pan.

My second attempt, the batter baked correctly (see picture below).

Picture taking after they were done baking, and sitting in the oven to keep warm. 

The actual doughnuts themselves were pretty tasty. However, the glaze looked NOTHING like the picture on the Taste of Home website. I was kind of disappointed. It was runny (both times we made it) and didn't really lay atop the doughnut as much as it seeped into, thus only leaving a very thin "clear coat" on the doughnut. Highly disappointing considering the picture on T of H looked more like a frosting. The glaze was also borderline sour after reducing the apple cider to flavor it. It complemented the doughnut flavor but still seemed a little off to us.


Synopsis:
This is one of those recipes that looked GREAT that just didn't play out well. More than likely, I will not try this again unless I find a reason for why they turned out poorly.

Andrew's Rating: n/a
Right out of the oven, they taste great. After cool down, they loose a lot of flavor


Becki's Rating: 2 out of 5
Great muffins, not so great doughnuts

As for the recipe -  if you're interested in trying it, I followed the TofH  recipe to a T which is linked at the top of the post.

7 Up Biscuits

I made these up to go along with the main dish I made (Goulash - Boerema style) when we hosted our small group this past Sunday evening.  I was surprised at how easy they were to whip up. I found the recipe on the Monster Momma blog. I'm lacking pictures from this recipe as well as the other two recipes from that evening due to being short on time and not being able to take as many as I would have liked!

Ingredients:

2 cups baking mix (I used bisquick but plan on doing these again completely from scratch)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup 7 up

1/4 cup melted butter

Note: I actually doubled the recipe and made two double batches (didn't want to put all 8 cups of flour in my mixer) which made two 9x13 pans of THICK biscuits.

Steps:

1) Cut sour cream into bisquick mix. I did this in my stand mixer. 

2) Add 7 up, using dough hook. (not sure if its necessary but the first batch I did wasn't as fluffy and that was the only thing I did different - I think). 

3) Once mixed, original recipe calls for you to pat it out on the counter. I skipped this step

4) Pour melted butter into 9x9 pan (9x13 for double batch) then place dough over top of butter. 

5) Using a sharp knife, cut into sections (as large or as small as you want your biscuits).

6) Bake in oven at 450 for 12-15 minutes (until golden on top, I think mine took a little longer)

Synopsis

Biscuits were really moist and fluffy and tasted really good. I'm not usually a huge fan of biscuits but these were really tasty. Per Andrew's request, I'm sure we'll make them again sometime. We just don't normally have 7 up in the house so its a special purchase so I'm not sure how often we'll have them.

Andrew's Rating: 5 out of 5

"those were REALLY good!" 

Becki's Rating: 4 out of 5

They were really good, but not role on floor good ;)

For those interested in the goulash recipe, I don't have a picture but here is what it takes...

Ingredients:

1 box of elbow pasta

1 jar of Ragu (pasta sauce)

1 lb of ground beef

1 can of mushrooms

Steps:

Brown your ground beef. 

Add a little all seasoning salt & minced onion if you like. 

Add mushrooms into meat when almost finished.

Drain the grease off the beef.

Meanwhile, have the noodles going (per directions on the box)

Once meat and noodles are done, combine into large pot, add ragu, and serve.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats

I'm a little bit behind on updating but I have 4 recipes ready to go today.

The first is a dessert that I put together for our small group this past Sunday. I based it off the Fancy Shmancy Krispies recpie on the Cookies and Cups blog. These actually turned out really well and had more flavor than a typical rice krispie treat.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup salted butter

1 (10.5) oz bag mini marshmallows

6 cups Rice Krispie cereal

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Steps:

1) Over medium-low heat, melt your butter. Once melted, continue to cook until it turns brown. 

    Note: I ran out of patients and probably took it off a little too soon, but a regular RKT only calls for the butter to be melted. For more tips on browning the butter, see original recipe via the link provided above.

2) Add marshmallows and pumpkin pie spice to melted butter and stir until marshmallows are melted.

3) Remove from heat and stir in rice krispies

4) Once combined, spread the mixture into your pan (see tips below). 

Tips:

1) Original recipe suggests spraying a sheet of parchment paper with cookie spray and then pressing the mixture into the pan, I used my hands instead and then a spoon to even it out (cheaper and less to clean up / throw away).

2) Original recipe suggests using a 9x9 pan. I used a 9x13 and get thinner treats but they went further.

3) For a more festive look, add sprinkles. After pressing down the mixture, use the sprinkles of your choice over the top and press in by hand (so they don't fall off when eating). I first tried pressing them in with a spoon but the spoon crushed the sprinkles.

Synopsis

The treats were a nice treat ;) - they had more flavor than your standard RKT but still reminded you of the treat we all love so well! I would most definitely make these again and maybe even try it with Apple Pie Spice next time!

Andrew's Rating: 3.5 out of 5
*Not a huge fan of rice krispie treats in general. Regular ones are like a 2 out of 5 in his book

Becki's Rating: 4 out of 5

Homemade Chili Mac (Hamburger Helper)

I got the idea of making my own hamburger helper from a post on the Chickens In The Road Blog. So I finally got around to making one of them tonight.

Here is what you need for my version:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1.5 cups elbow macaroni

2 1/4 cups of water

3/4 cup of milk

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can of kidney beans

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese *Note: This measurement is from original recipe, I didn't measure)

Seasoning Packet: (you can make these ahead of time and store in ziplock baggies)

1 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp sugar

Steps:

1) brown the meat, then drain.

2) Add macaroni, water, milk, tomatoes, kidney beans, and the seasoning packet ingredients.

3) Stir and let simmer for 12-20 minutes. (I'm not sure how long I left mine on b/c I was making a cake too. Just make sure noodles and beans are soft)

4) Add shredded cheese on top and serve.

Final Product:

Synopsis:

It was a little bit on the spicy side for me so I might reduce the amount of chili powder next time. A dallop of sour cream might also make it a little less spicy. However, most people would probably consider the amount just fine as I'm a wuss with chili powder. I did have it stick to the bottom of the pan a little. Not sure if that was due to leaving it on the stove too long (paying attention to making the cake and frosting) or because it needed a little more liquid so just keep an eye on it if you try and make sure you don't burn it! :)

Andrew's Ruling: 4 out of 5

Becki's Ruling: 3 out of 5

Little spicy, but not too bad, and it tasted really good. 

Austin's Ruling:  0 out of 5

Ate one bit, wouldn't open mouth for a second.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken - My Style

Disclaimer #1 - pictures are crap because I was in a HUGE hurry today due to my new exercise class at church!

I found this recipe on via pinterest from SkinnyTaste.com (original recipe) and have been interested in trying it for quite some time now.  Plus it helped me use up some of the stuff I opened in the Cornbread Taco Pizza recipe from earlier this week.

Please note that the items in red are things I have changed from the original

Ingredients:
24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast (used frozen)
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies (10 oz)
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (omitted)
14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth (used 10oz of frozen chicken broth, thawed)
3 scallions, chopped (used minced onion, maybe a couple tbsp)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin (1/2 tsp cumin)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)  (omitted)
salt to taste (omitted)
Seasoned Salt
Shredded Cheese
Lettuce
Sour Cream

Directions:

• Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the slow cooker. I drained everything before putting in the pot.

• Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. This is where I put seasoned salt on the chicken.
• Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. I cooked on high for 5 hours and 15 minutes.
• Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. At about 4.5 hours I was able to shred the chicken and did not remove it from the pot.

• Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. 
• Adjust salt and seasoning. I didn't add anything to mine. Canned items already have a lot of salt. :P
• Serve over rice or in a tortilla. We were using tortilla shells so I took out some left over lettuce and shredded cheese and some sour cream. All optional but I liked it with those things.

Finished Product:

For those of you that want the recipe without all my crazy notes... here is just what I did with it.


Ingredients:
24 oz (1 1/2) lbs frozen chicken breast 
10 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies (rotel)
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
10 oz frozen chicken broth, thawed
2-3 tbsp of minced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
Seasoned Salt
Shredded Cheese
Lettuce
Sour Cream


Directions:

Drain/rinse beans, corn, tomatoes and tomatoes. 
Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, minced onion, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin, in the slow cooker.
Season chicken breast with seasoned salt and lay atop the mixture in the slow cooker.
Cook on low 4-6 hours (mine took about 5 hours)
Half hour before serving, shred the chicken in the pot and stir all ingredients.

Serve in a tortilla with lettuce, cheese, and sour cream.

Corn Bread Taco Pizza

Welcome to my first food blog post! Tonight I made corn bread taco pizza. The recipe came from my sister Sheri out of our family's cookbook. Of course I did change a couple things to adapt it to what I had on hand.

Ingredients you need:

1 box of corn muffin mix

1 egg (for the mix)

1 lb ground beef

1 packet of taco seasoning  (I used my homemade taco seasoning and 2/3 cup of water)

2 cups of cheddar cheese (I used a mexican blend of cheese)

1 cup of lettuce shredded

1/3 cup of petite diced tomatoes

Taco Sauce (optional, I only used it as a drizzle on top)

Sour Cream (optional, I had it in the picture but we never used it)

Directions:

Prepare corn muffin mix as directed on package.

Pour it into a 12" pizza dish. I used a 9.5" pie dish and it worked well.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. My 9.5" took a little longer.

Brown ground beef and drain the grease.

Add taco seasoning as directed on package. I put 2/3 cup of water in with my 2 tbsp of taco seasoning.

Top corn bread with 1 cup of cheese.

Pour the ground beef over top

Put the remaining cheese on top of that

Put the dish back into the oven for about 4 minutes (to melt the cheese)

Top with tomatoes and lettuce then drizzle taco sauce over the top

Here is the finished product!